Battle Plan Against B.U.S.Y.

Used to Busy

I have a friend and coworker that recently had the same back surgery. One is in her 30s with 2 kids, the other in her 20s. The 30 year old, despite having a 3 & 10 year old, took the full 2 weeks off of work, had her husband & even enlisted mom & mil to come stay and help. Suprisingly, the younger woman had a harder time resting, not from lack of help (she had her best friend, boyfriend, roommate and mom), but more boredom. You see, she’s used to being busy. She went to her boyfriend’s baseball game one day, came to work for a few hours another. Consequently, she ended up in quite a bit of pain paying for it over the next few days.

B.U.S.Y.

I once had a friend who used busy as an acronym – “Being Under Satan’s Yoke.” His point was that the enemy can use your busy schedule to keep you from growing as a Christian. Makes sense, right?

I can’t find time for date night because we’re so busy. We don’t pray together before bed because we’re so exhausted from our busy day. We don’t get together for coffee with that friend that needs encouragement because there’s no room in our busy week. And we all know what happens when we get too busy. Insert pissiness. Yeah I said it.

Look, I’m as busy as the next person sometimes. Husband, 4 kids, cross country, orchestra, karate, basketball, volleyball, aging mother, church events. It takes MAJOR efforts to fight busy. Here are some of our battle plans:

Battle Plan

1- Have a NO night.

Mondays are our no nights. There will not be anything added to Monday’s evening schedule. Sometimes during a sports season this has to be changed to a different day of the week but every weekday there are 1-2 days that we wipe & keep our calendar for that day clear. This allows us to take care of the bare necessities on the TDL @ home (dishes, laundry, etc), rest (like actual laid out flat on our backs on the bed or couch rest), and spend time soaking in and appreciating the things that get overlooked – the spring breeze or crackle of fire…each other’s giggle (???? my husband has the best high-pitched giggle. I’m grinning like a monkey just thinking about it.)…a bird’s song.

2- Don’t over commit at church.

I know, I know. This sounds counter productive when talking about fighting busyness to grow as a Christian, right? Volunteering at church is growing as a Christian, right? They say 20% of the church family does 80% of the work though and it’s easy to see when you start volunteering. Between Sunday church, evening youth, life group, and special events it can be easy to get wrapped up in the to-dos and miss the growth intended. Please don’t misunderstand me in that sometimes we sacrifice our times for the growth of others. We’re called to serve but if you’re not growing in your relationship because you’re too busy serving, the enemy is using that busyness for his purpose. ???? Yep, he can use things within those church walls!

3- Stick with one hobby.

This goes for you, hubs, & kids if you have them. Do you love to exercise, have a weekly girls’ night, go to the spa, and are learning hiking & photography? Then you’re probably too busy. (Side rant – is it even possible to really do all that?! Whew – some women make me tired just hearing about their day!) When you choose one hobby, you free yourself up to really enjoy that hobby with more time & energy. You reduce the risk of burnout. You improve at a more accelerated work. It gives you more room to point your success towards the God of the universe. He can use our hobbies for His glory?! Well of course! I learn this all too often when I allow the time and room for relational connections in the midst of my hobbies. ????

Busy Doesn’t Equal Important

This society equates busyness with value & strength. There is a feeling of importance tied to what all we can accomplish. Maintaining an insane pace of busy all the time is perceived as strength. The more a woman does, the stronger she must be, right? It can sometimes be a struggle to remember that, while we might be in this world, we are not of it. Our worth is not tied to how busy we are. We know that we are broken and weak, and that’s OK! because we have a God Almighty who fills us with His strength for His awesome AWESOME glory! We are adopted daughters of the King and our worth comes from Him, not our packed schedule.

So just how busy are you? Do you have one or two nights a week where your schedule is clear? Are you growing by spending time in the Word of God? Let’s implement this battle plan and, together as daughters of the King, fight against Being Under Satan’s Yoke!

Rest & Encouragement Friend!